#int: noel lacroix.

[devoureden]

a closed starter for my heart, @alkalinc, for noel & chase.

"so...we should talk," noel said softly after she laid river down in her playpen for a nap. she had one at chase's place, too. "y'know when we were talking about me moving in? were you serious? do you really want us here? becuse...that means sleepless nights sometimes. she's not even one yet. are you okay with that? you'll have us here a good majority of the time."

[devoureden]

she gave him a little smile and bit into her lip as he kissed both of her palms. "i dunno - i'm like mum. i have abandonment issues," she laughed a little. "you do not look daft to me." her arms curled around his neck and she pressed a kiss to his lips. "she's as much your daughter as she is mine at this point, chase. thank you for everything you've done and i know you're gonna say i have nothing to thank you for, but i do. you deserve it. no one would have actually taken in someone else's baby. but you did almost immediately." tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she rested her forehead against his. "i love you so much," she whispered and smiled through her tears.

his head shook with a tsk coming from him before he pressed a kiss to her lips. "our little family means i'm allowed to buy anything i want." his nose was scrunched with a smile on his lips before she pressed a kiss to his hands. chase pulled her own hands closer and turned them enough to press a kiss against both of her palms. "did you really think i'd ask you to move in with me if i wasn't sure about it?" he asked with a quirked brow and a tilt of his head with a hint of a smile on his lips. "do i look that daft to you?"

[devoureden]

since the beginning of their relationship, chase has treated river like his own daughter. honestly, he was her father if anyone ever was. "you don't have to buy anything, you numpty. i'll get everything she needs," she chuckled against his lips. "see? i'm smart. i can make up traditions for our little family." she smiled, though, and leaned into his kiss to her lips. she pressed kisses to both of his hands and nodded, "exactly. it's a five minute drive from here, thankfully. and mum said if we ever needed river to be watched, she'd come get her almost immediately."

"whatever you don't have here that you need, we can go get it. we'll buy it if we need to." they would need to at some point in the future, anyway. the two of them moving in surely meant they would be getting more things for river, especially. chase had already gotten toys to keep at his place for her and he was ready to spoil that baby as if she were his own. a small smile tugged at his lips at her idea. "i think that's perfect. your mum needs to keep her stress down to nothing and it could be a nice tradition for us to start for ourselves." leaning closer, he pressed a kiss to her lips and gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "besides, my place is a bit closer to the salon, too. that'll be better for you with work."

[devoureden]

"you're all in," she whispered and smiled gently against his lips. she wrinkled up her nose after he nudged his to hers. "that's a good idea, actually. i'll bring a few things over, but it'll mostly be for river. some toys and diapers and stuff. necessities." she laced both of their hands together and she pressed another kiss to his lips. "we'll be back and forth for the next week, anyway. and i think we should do new year's eve here. it'll be like our little tradition. we can facetime mum and tristan at midnight. i'm sure they'd want a quiet night, anyway. nothing major to keep mum's stress levels down. that's why nan and grandad are taking control of everything for christmas. they don't want her all over the place like she normally would be because mum is a control freak."

his lips were pressed against hers in a slow and deep kiss that kept him close. "i'm in, baby. i'm all in," he whispered against her lips before his head tilted to nudge his nose against hers. biting down on his lower lip, he held back a bit of laughter. "look – if you don't want to yet and you don't wanna leave your mum, i get it." his arms wrapped around her waist to pull her closer. "actually, let's wait on actually moving your stuff here until after the holidays are done, okay? you've got some stuff here if you need it and we'll be all over the place. there's a lot going on, so we can wait until after the new year and then officially move your stuff over then. how does that sound?"

[devoureden]

he pulled her closer to him and she looked up at him. her smile grew as he laced their fingers together and she inhaled sharply over his words. "i love you, baby," she whispered and nodded her head, "you're right. i just...wanted to doublecheck with you. to make sure we were on the same page." noel blushed and she leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. her hands cupped his face and she smiled against his lips. "now we have more moving to do." noel laughed and she covered her mouth. " -- mum and uncle theo wanted me to doublecheck, too. because we just moved into the new house."

"...okay." brows pulled together and he watched noel place river in the playpen for a nap. he smiled down at the little one, watching as she drifted off to sleep fairly easy this moment. when noel spoke, his gaze lifted to glance at her. "no, i won't have you here for a good majority of the time. i'll have you here practically all the time because this would be your home." chase took a few steps to close the distance between them and he reached out to lace their fingers together, pulling her a little closer and he met her gaze. "i love you, noel. i love you and i love river. you know i don't sleep a lot as is, so at least i'd have a reason for that happening now, right?"